A few years back, I had a mole removed and covered the resulting wound with a hydrocolloid bandage. My first dressing change was uneventful. During a subsequent dressing change a few days later, I cleaned the exudate and dressing residue and saw a clean, granulating wound. Suddenly, I felt flushed and light-headed and needed to sit down before I passed out. Although I am a wound specialist who regularly works with large, necrotic, infected wounds, I couldn’t handle a clean, tiny wound the size of a pencil eraser. But this was an entirely different experience. I wasn’t clinically detached from the wound or the patient — this wound was on me.

This incident gave me a great insight into what we ask our patients and families to do. I couldn’t cavalierly change my own dressing (what I do professionally) — can I expect a patient to have an easier experience? Every wound and treatment plan can evoke strong emotions. Seeing a hole in yourself has many implications: illness, fear of infection/complications, activity limitations, pain or fear of pain, inability to fulfill social roles. Changing a loved one’s dressing may be even more difficult — a colleague of mine who worked in a burn unit admits that removing her son’s stuck bandage once brought her to tears.

Since my experience, I approach patient and family teaching more empathetically. I ask if patients and their caregivers can do what needs to be done. I explain what they’re likely to see to preclude some worry. Together, we seek options to make treatments more doable. I solicit their feedback to identify problems. Most importantly, I realize that what may be easy for an “objective” professional is not easy for everyone. My new approach has improved my patients’ adherence to treatment plans.

Pearls for Practice is made possible through the support of Ferris Mfg. Corp, Burr Ridge, IL (www.polymem.com). The opinions and statements of the clinicians providing Pearls for Practice are specific to the respective authors and are not necessarily those of Ferris Mfg. Corp., OWM, or HMP Communications. This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.